Or molten hot sidewalks in the desert, apparently.
Re: pest control, at the winery rats and mice are our main rodent pest (not surprisingly). During Harvest, fruit flies are a big problem because they’re vectors for acetobacter (what creates vinegar). Not too much we can do about the latter. For the former, we have an exterminator service.
In the vineyard, it’s more complicated. Our disease pressure is much different from Texas. Because of the climate, y’all have things like downy mildew and black root rot that we simply don’t get here in California. Powdery mildew is the most common issue in vineyards worldwide. In some cases, up to two thirds of a pest control budget can be spent fighting it. Sulfur is one of the best things to spray for powdery mildew but there are weather/temperature limitations. Stylet oil is another fantastic product, but again weather/temp limitations. We also farm organically so our toolbox is more limited than what my partner Kara has who farms conventionally. She can use systemics against powdery mildew (none are organic).
Feral pigs can be an issue, but they’re more common out in the Sierra Nevadas and the Central Valley. Deer (especially) and bears are bigger wildlife problems for us in Northern California. Fencing is the main/best method of control. For insects, mites and the goddamn, no good, motherfucking glassy winged sharpshooter are two of the most serious pests. The latter is a vector for Pierce’s Disease, which nearly wiped out the wine industry in Southern California before Prohibition. Sharpshooters are generally limited to riparian habitats, so boundary plants to block their flight paths or leaving sufficient fallow ground are the best measures. There is no spray that I know of.
Fun Fact: Before Prohibtion, most of the wine California wine industry, premium or otherwise, was down south in places like Rancho Cucomonga east of Los Angeles; PD is what forced it to migrate north.
That’s awesome and way more thorough than I intended.
Have there been any efforts to eradicate the sharpshooter (which I didn’t know existed until now) ala how they got rid of the screwworm fly in and around Texas?
I hate pigs with a passion unless they’re in the freezer or on the pit. It’s hay baling season and the hidden divot/holes in the field are not fun.
ETA: we recently had a black bear killed on the highway on the western edge of the Hill Country (west of Kerrville). Sad that it died, but awesome to know they’re moving back into the area from the West.
Very cool about the Black Bears returning. The California Grizzly is extinct, but several years ago a different species was introduced to California, the being to rebuild the population of at least some type of Grizzly Bear out here.
I’ll talk to Kara this evening about sharpshooter eradication efforts. She’s far more dialed into that than I am (she’s a viticulturist). I do know there are sharpshooters which aren’t vectors for Pierce’s Disease, so that surely complicates things.
On my last driving trip from VT to MD, I saw a dead black bear, a dead mountain lion and a dead elk on the side of the road in PA. On top of countless white tailed deer and raccoons an such. It’s fascinating to see wildlife readapting to human encroachment and changes in lifestyle.
I’ve always had Johnson and Murphey dress shoes, I go through tennis shoes about one a year and have no brand loyalty. I like Merrell for my hiking boots. I like the fit of Ecco boots but they wear out quicker than Merrells and cost a lot more.